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rhododendron not looking healthy ..?
I planted a rhododendron last autumn and it seemed to establish
itself ok during the year, but in the last month or so the ends of the leaves have gone brown and brittle. I have to admit, I haven't watered it much, but I didn't think it needed much water. I've also put plenty of ericaceous fertilizer and peat around it, especially during the spring. Any ideas what's wrong and what I can do, if anything, to correct it before it dies? I can email a picture if needed. a |
rhododendron not looking healthy ..?
On 8/8/04 22:12, in article ,
"al" wrote: I planted a rhododendron last autumn and it seemed to establish itself ok during the year, but in the last month or so the ends of the leaves have gone brown and brittle. I have to admit, I haven't watered it much, but I didn't think it needed much water. I've also put plenty of ericaceous fertilizer and peat around it, especially during the spring. Any ideas what's wrong and what I can do, if anything, to correct it before it dies? I can email a picture if needed. I'm going to guess lack of water while it establishes itself. You don't say where you live but here in the SW we've had long dry spells, even if they weren't all hot, too. We've also had some strong winds and the two conditions combined are dangerous to many plants. Assuming it's in the ground and not in a pot, try watering it morning and evening until real, serious rain sets in. You don't say what your soil is like but I doubt you need to do more in that line or not at present - the old saw is that you should never feed a sick plant. AND, is it possible that it's been both dry at the root and in the path of strong winds? -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon (remove the weeds to email me) |
rhododendron not looking healthy ..?
"Sacha" wrote in message
news:BD3C6B04.EE1% I'm going to guess lack of water while it establishes itself. You don't say where you live but here in the SW we've had long dry spells, even if they weren't all hot, too. We've also had some strong winds and the two conditions combined are dangerous to many plants. I'm in NW London. We've had some very hot weather recently, but rain on and off too. I had been neglecting the front garden (once a week water - if that!), but am giving it a really good soaking each weekend now and about 3 times during the week it gets a quick blast. Assuming it's in the ground and not in a pot, try watering it morning and evening until real, serious rain sets in. You don't say what your soil is like but I doubt you need to do more in that line or not at present - the old saw is that you should never feed a sick plant. AND, is it possible that it's been both dry at the root and in the path of strong winds? -- I've never been good at describing soil! The pH is quite neutral so I added ericaceous compost in the planting hole and generously around the top of the plant. I've also watered it directly a couple of times with an ericaceous water-soluble fertilizer as I thought the soil might not be acidic enough. Perhaps I did too much and have burnt it? It's in the front garden so it gets sun until early/mid-afternoon and complete shade in the evening. It's not really protected from wind, but then isn't stuck out on its own either. If you can't feed a sick plant, what can you do for it? a |
rhododendron not looking healthy ..?
"al" wrote in message . uk... "Sacha" wrote in message news:BD3C6B04.EE1% I'm going to guess lack of water while it establishes itself. You don't say where you live but here in the SW we've had long dry spells, even if they weren't all hot, too. We've also had some strong winds and the two conditions combined are dangerous to many plants. I'm in NW London. We've had some very hot weather recently, but rain on and off too. I had been neglecting the front garden (once a week water - if that!), but am giving it a really good soaking each weekend now and about 3 times during the week it gets a quick blast. "Quick blasts" of watering almost certainly do more harm than good, because they encourage roots to grow near the surface, so the more you give quick blasts, the more quick blasts the plant requires. [snip] Franz. |
rhododendron not looking healthy ..?
In article , al
writes -- I've never been good at describing soil! The pH is quite neutral so I added ericaceous compost in the planting hole and generously around the top of the plant. I've also watered it directly a couple of times with an ericaceous water-soluble fertilizer as I thought the soil might not be acidic enough. Perhaps I did too much and have burnt it? It's not so much that rhododendrons are desperate for a low pH, more that they can't take up iron in a high pH soil. If you're on the acid side of neutral you should be OK. It's in the front garden so it gets sun until early/mid-afternoon and complete shade in the evening. It's not really protected from wind, but then isn't stuck out on its own either. If you can't feed a sick plant, what can you do for it? Usually (particularly if its in a pot) - let its roots dry out a little ;-) Sometimes - give it more water - though if you are getting major problems from lack of water it's usually too late. Other than that - it's what you'd do for a human - find out what's wrong then treat the cause, or at least, the symptoms. -- Kay "Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river" |
rhododendron not looking healthy ..?
On 9/8/04 8:33 pm, in article
, "al" wrote: snip If you can't feed a sick plant, what can you do for it? Water it well, let it drain well etc. But don't just give it a quick squirt from the hose - really saturate it and then do the same again next morning or evening, until nature starts to do it for you. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon (remove the weeds to email me) |
rhododendron not looking healthy ..?
"Sacha" wrote in message news:BD3DA5B1.F82% Water it well, let it drain well etc. But don't just give it a quick squirt from the hose - really saturate it and then do the same again next morning or evening, until nature starts to do it for you. -- Well .. not wanting to wash away the soil or anything ... but I did water it pretty much directly for a good 5 minutes yesterday (and kept coming back over it briefly during about the next 20 mins while I watered the rest of the front). That may not sound like much, but it's a lot of direct water from a hose (nozzle of course or I'd have just jet-washed it out of the bed!). The soil, if I managed to stop it from ponding too much, is quite happy to drink what seems like an infinite amount of water! Am I better off doing this on Saturday and Sunday so it's thoroughly drenched and then leaving it for the week to dry out a bit before repeating the cycle? a |
rhododendron not looking healthy ..?
"al" wrote in message . uk... "Sacha" wrote in message news:BD3DA5B1.F82% Water it well, let it drain well etc. But don't just give it a quick squirt from the hose - really saturate it and then do the same again next morning or evening, until nature starts to do it for you. -- Well .. not wanting to wash away the soil or anything ... but I did water it pretty much directly for a good 5 minutes yesterday (and kept coming back over it briefly during about the next 20 mins while I watered the rest of the front). That may not sound like much, but it's a lot of direct water from a hose (nozzle of course or I'd have just jet-washed it out of the bed!). The soil, if I managed to stop it from ponding too much, is quite happy to drink what seems like an infinite amount of water! I used to build 'dykes' around mine so that I could fill up the space and let it soak in........ Am I better off doing this on Saturday and Sunday so it's thoroughly drenched and then leaving it for the week to dry out a bit before repeating the cycle? That's what I do mostly. Try to get some ground cover plants around and under the rodos. This will stop the soil drying out. Jenny |
rhododendron not looking healthy ..?
"al" wrote in message . uk... "Sacha" wrote in message news:BD3DA5B1.F82% Water it well, let it drain well etc. But don't just give it a quick squirt from the hose - really saturate it and then do the same again next morning or evening, until nature starts to do it for you. -- Well .. not wanting to wash away the soil or anything ... but I did water it pretty much directly for a good 5 minutes yesterday (and kept coming back over it briefly during about the next 20 mins while I watered the rest of the front). That may not sound like much, but it's a lot of direct water from a hose (nozzle of course or I'd have just jet-washed it out of the bed!). The soil, if I managed to stop it from ponding too much, is quite happy to drink what seems like an infinite amount of water! Am I better off doing this on Saturday and Sunday so it's thoroughly drenched and then leaving it for the week to dry out a bit before repeating the cycle? a I am still not seeing all the posts but has anyone mentioned the possibility that you have hard water? if you have, it won't thank you for that and you will need to collect rain water for it. -- Charlie, gardening in Cornwall. http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs) |
rhododendron not looking healthy ..?
In article , al
writes Well .. not wanting to wash away the soil or anything ... but I did water it pretty much directly for a good 5 minutes yesterday (and kept coming back over it briefly during about the next 20 mins while I watered the rest of the front). That may not sound like much, but it's a lot of direct water from a hose (nozzle of course or I'd have just jet-washed it out of the bed!). The soil, if I managed to stop it from ponding too much, is quite happy to drink what seems like an infinite amount of water! Am I better off doing this on Saturday and Sunday so it's thoroughly drenched and then leaving it for the week to dry out a bit before repeating the cycle? Yes. It's also work poking your finger into the soil after watering to see how far down the water has penetrated. Sometimes after a surprisingly long time watering you find you've still only wetted the top inch! a -- Kay "Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river" |
rhododendron not looking healthy ..?
On 10/8/04 11:19, in article ,
"Martin " Martin wrote: On Tue, 10 Aug 2004 10:52:49 +0100, Sacha wrote: If it won't damage the roots, or other nearby plants, the OP could stick a foot length of narrow pipe down into the soil, so that only the top 3 or 4" are showing. That's done a lot in dry countries and ensures that the hose, when placed in said pipe, gets the water to where it will do most good! It's also done to trees planted in the streets in the Netherlands, but since nobody ever waters the trees, I assumed it was to allow air to get to the roots. They use corrugated plastic 1" hose here. I've never heard of it being used to air the roots! But I've seen plenty of instances of it used at the foot of young trees and shrubs. A lot of Madeirans used to come to Jersey to work in horticulture and agriculture and when planting, they often used this method. Once they'd been there awhile they realised that even in Jersey, it wasn't exactly essential, given the rainfall! But given the dryness of the last few weeks, it might be a help to the OP. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon (remove the weeds to email me) |
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